Murunga-Moringa oleifera

Botanical name:- Moringa oleifera
Family name:-MORINGACEAE

English name :-Drumstick Tree
Sinhala name:-Murunga
Tamil name :-murunkai, murungai
Sanskirt name:-sigru- sobhanjana
Description:-Grows in dry zone of Sri Lanka, about 3-12 m tall, Leaves with  2-3 pinnae, 20-60 cm long; Petiole thickened at base; primary leaflets 8-19 pairs, 5-25  3-14mm.Paniocals 10-30 cm; flowers white or yellowish white, fragrant. Capsule 18-45 cm long,  pendulous, costate, three valaes with blunt ribs.Seeds about 1 cm diameter, 3-winged.

Distribution:-Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Comoros, Archipelago, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi,Mali, Mauritius, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Burma-Myanmar, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, Belize, Brazil, Cayman Islands, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Dutch Antilles, El Salvador,French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Panama Canal, Zone, Puerto Rico, San Salvador, Suriname, Trinidad, Venezuela, Fiji, Guam, Palau
Status:-Under cultivation
Edible parts:- Fruits

Ayurvedic usage:-
Treatment for:-Rheumatoid arthritis, Earaches, Skin diseases, Haemorrhoids, Hernia , Worm diseases, Pains, Swellings, Headaches, Eye diseases, Sciatica, Amenorrhoea, Snake bites, Paralysis, Osteoarthritis.
Parts used to make medicine:-Roots, Leaves,Bark, Seeds
Propagation:-Stem cutting